Romans 3:7-8
“Someone might argue, “If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?” Why not say—as some slanderously claim that we say—“Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is just!”
INSIGHT
–Condemnation in Greek is written as katakrima which means an adverse sentence or to judge against. The falsehood propagated by the Romans with regards to sin and the condemnation thereof. Sin results to condemnation and precipitates death. This is what the people who commit suicide experience, condemnation caused by the devil and this results to death. Judas after betraying Jesus having been offered thirty silver coins; condemned himself. He conscious eroded his inside and resolved to return his bride to the chief priests. Unfortunately, he did not look to Jesus as His Savior and resolved to hang himself without repentance. Romans 6:23 reminds us that as much as the wages of sin is death, God has given us the eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. Paul’s conclusion from the argument in Romans 1:18 – 3:25 is that all people in the world have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. For this reason, we are all justified freely by the grace of God through the redemption that came through Jesus Christ. As Judas hang on the tree of condemnation, Jesus hang on the tree of grace presented as a sacrifice of atonement through the shedding of His blood for the sake of our salvation. It is through faith in Christ that we are justified, and we should seek God’s grace and repent our sins that we may be converted and transformed to be more like Him.
PRAYER
Father in the name of Jesus Christ, we come before Your throne of grace with confidence asking for Your mercy and grace that helps us in times of need. We need You dear Jesus to take charge of our thoughts and emotions that we may look to You and give thanks to You in all circumstances. We worship You and honor You dear Jesus for You are good and Your mercies endures forever. Dear Jesus may You forgive us all the sins and iniquities we have said, done or thought. May You sanctify us by Your precious Blood Lord Jesus. We pray that You will guide our steps in all we do and glorify Yourself in all our ways and matters. May You remember all the candidates who are sitting their exams that You may grant them victory. We come against every panic and anxiety and forgetfulness in Jesus Mighty Name. Father may You also remember the other candidates as they prepare for their final examinations and direct them as they study. We pray that You will give all of these candidates the Spirit of excellence, knowledge and that You will make a special visitation to them during this time and bless all their efforts. May You remember all the needy and homeless in the society and provide for them all their needs. May You also heal those who are unwell and strengthen them. May You wash them with Your blood Jesus. Dear Lord may we dwell in Your grace and seek more of Your righteousness. May You wipe away all accusations against us by Your precious blood Lord Jesus and be our defender and justifier. May You help us to abide by You and Your word always. May You fight for us despite all the accusations against us our faithful Advocate. We declare that their is no condemnation to us who believe in You and are called by Your Name Lord Jesus. Thank You Dear Lord for Your love and goodness upon our lives. Increase our faith in You dear Jesus. We thank You for all You have done for us and for all the good plans for You have for us according to Your word. We pray all this trusting and believing in Your name, Amen
Further reading: Romans 5:1
Genesis 4:10-13
“The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.” Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear.”
INSIGHT
-After Adam and Eve were ostracized from the garden of Eden, they bore Cain. They were hopeful and Eve said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord” (Genesis 4:1). In Hebrew Cain is written as qayin which means a possessor of substance, and Abel is havel which means empty of substance. Due to the fallen nature of man, Cain was jealous that his sacrifice was rejected while Abel’s was accepted, and he killed his brother Abel. He was cursed and condemned, and became a restless wonderer. As the blood of the innocent man Abel cried to God for justice, Jesus had to die for our sins and His blood speaks better things than that of Abel (Hebrews 12:24). Due to the same fallen nature, we are prone to sin and we are called to repentance. Even as this happens, we have hope in Jesus Christ through His redemption power and has delivered us from all curses, condemnation and shame. Even though we waste away outwardly, we are renewed daily we who believe, and have hope of eternal glory in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).
PRAYER
Almighty Heavenly Father, You are our good God, we thank You. You are the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last, we worship You. We declare of Your great and mighty works, for You are our Great and Mighty God. You are awesome in wonder and good unto us beyond our imagination, we thank You and praise You Lord. We thank You for all You have done and promised us, and all our generations. We thank You for Your constant love and mercies unto us; which are new and fresh every morning. Lord we love You and appreciate You. Dear Lord we thank You for we have learnt of Your unending mercies despite our shortcomings. Your blood speaks better things than that of Abel, thank You for loving us and for drying on the cross for us. May You forgive us and wash us with Your precious blood. May You teach us Your ways oh Lord and guide us that we may always walk according to Your will. We pray that You will uphold us with Your righteous right hand and hide us in Your shadow and under Your wings oh Lord. You remain God in every situation, thank You for You will never fail us. You will never leave us nor forsake us Holy Spirit, we praise Your holy name. Increase our faith in You dear Jesus that we may always look to You in all situations. You are our Protector and the Rock of our Salvation, our Strong refuge and Help in times of trouble, we appreciate You dear Jesus. We commit all those who are going through turbulent times for whatever reason unto Your able hands. We pray that You will be with them, comfort them, protect them and deliver them from all their trouble. We pray that You will continue providing for all our needs and blessing us with Your eternal blessings. May You heal all the sick and strengthen them by Your power Holy Spirit. We pray for all those who are undertaking their exams that You may bring everything that they have learnt to remembrance, that they may excel in all their papers. We pray all this in Jesus Mighty Name, Amen.
Further reading: Hebrews 12:24, Galatians 3:13
2 Peter 2:3
“In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.”
INSIGHT
-Peter warns of immoral and greedy false teachers who will use people as a means of reaching their own selfish goals. Their condemnation is hanging on a balance, knowing the way of righteousness and turning their back on it. Matthew 24:11-13 reveals that, many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. Since lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold but those who endure to the end will be saved. 2 Peter 2:4-7 reminds us of the angels who sinned and were sent to hell. It also talks about the story of Noah and the flood which destroyed all the ungodly people. The narrative of Sodom and Gomorrah is also exposed where many were burned into ashes but Lot a righteous man was rescued. God reminds us to evaluate our ways and return to Him so that we may be saved.
PRAYER
Dear Jesus You are good and Your mercies endures forever. Abba Father You are righteous and Your righteousness endures to all generations. Holy Spirit You are Holy and Your holiness is eternal. You the consuming fire Lord, may You consume our hearts with Your love and deliver us from all evil. We rely on Your mercies, holiness and righteousness, may You hear us. May You forgive us from us all unrighteousness and wash us with Your precious blood. May You renew our minds and lead us in the way of righteousness. We are nothing without You dear Jesus and can achieve nothing without You, may You help us to bear fruits filled with righteousness and truth. Dear Jesus You have called us to be the salt and the light of the earth, may we always bring glory to Your name. We submit our cares and burdens unto You for You care for us. May You grace abound in our hearts so that we may always do Your holy will. Our Father who art in heaven; hallowed be Your name; Your Kingdom come; Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptations but deliver us from evil; for thine is the Kingdom the power and the glory; forever and ever. Amen
Further reading: Philippians 2:12
Romans 8:1-2
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”
INSIGHT
-Whoever is in Christ he is a new creation; old things have passed away; and all things have become new. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. We are now ambassadors of God who makes His appeal through us (2 Corinthians 5:17-21). There is therefore no condemnation to us who are in Christ Jesus, having given us the gift of grace as the law cannot justify. Through His cross he has adopted us as His children by His love.
PRAYER
There is power in Your blood Jesus, we praise You. There is healing in Your blood Jesus, we worship You. There is deliverance in Your blood Jesus, we exult Your holy name. Thank You dear Jesus for dying on the cross for our sins, and destroying the power of death and giving us life everlasting. You are Yahweh Jesus we bless Your holy name. We belong to You dear Jesus, thank You for loving us and blessing us with every kind of spiritual blessing. Thank You for Your salvation power working in our lives. Thank You for saving us by grace through faith that we are righteous in You. May You heal all those who are sick and suffering among us. May You deliver all those who are in prison. May You provide for all the street families and all those who lack the basic needs. May You bless the work of our hands and increase us. May Your favor always be upon us to make us successful in every good work for the glory of Your name. May You bless our nation and give us righteous leaders come the general elections. We worship You dear Jesus and bless Your holy name. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and forever more. Amen
Further reading: Romans 4:5-8
John 8:3-12
“Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.””
INSIGHT
-The Scribes and Pharisees based their arguments on the law and missed on the grace of God. They brought a woman caught in adultery before Jesus and wanted to condemn her by the law. Jesus invoked their consciousness saying that, whoever has no sin let him throw the first stone. No one condemned her and Jesus set her free. He instructed that she should longer sin but follow His way of light. Jesus reminds us that we should seek Him first and follow Him, and embrace His salvation power upon our lives.
SUMMARY
Condemnation originates from sin, and the devil causes us to feel guilty resulting to death, first spiritually then physically. He is the accuser of the brethren and accuses us daily, but we have victory in Jesus Christ. Judas was a disciple of Jesus who betrayed Him with thirty silver coins. His condemnation became too much to bear, and he returned the coins to the chief priest, and hang himself without repentance. We can trace the origin of condemnation from the Old Testament, that resulted from the first sin by Adam and Eve. Condemnation by definition means to strongly disapprove, sentence or punish. After sin entered the world, we find Cain who killed Abel his brother Abel out of jealousy, and his blood continually cried to God. He was cursed and he became a vagabond. Jesus Christ corrected this by dying on the cross for our sins and redeemed us by His blood that speaks better things than that of Abel. King David felt condemned after he orchestrated the death of Uriah and took his wife Bathsheba. After he repented, prophet Nathan gave him the report that the Lord had taken away his sin and he was not going to die (2 Samuel 12:13). In the New Testament, we find a woman caught in adultery and was condemned to death. Jesus saved her by commanding that, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7). We see Jesus exercising His power of forgiveness of sins, restoration and giving her underserved favor. Romans 3:23 tells us that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We are called to repent our sinned and embrace the forgiveness power of Jesus which yields life in abundance. We are also reminded that even though the devil accuses us of sin that causes death, Jesus has destroyed the power of death and has given us the eternal life. Each one of us is called to carry his cross daily, deny himself and follow Jesus, so that we may have always rejoice in Him. We are called to abide in Christ and His saving power for there is no condemnation for all those who are in Christ Jesus.
PRAYER
Sing to the Lord a new song, praise His holy name. Proclaim His salvation day after day. Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous deeds among all peoples. Great are You Lord and most worthy of praise. Only You are to be feared above all gods. All gods of the nations are idols, but only You Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before You; strength and glory are in Your sanctuary. We worship You dear Jesus for You sacrificed Your life for our salvation. We worship You Lord for You love us with an everlasting kind of love; despite our shortcomings. We humbly come to You feet asking You for Your mercy. May You deliver us from all evil and wash us with Your precious blood merciful Savior. May You deliver us from any accusation in the courts of heaven and show us Your grace. We come to Your throne of grace with boldness that we may obtain mercy and grace to help us during our time of need. Your grace is sufficient for us and Your power is made perfect in weakness, for when we are weak, then we are strong for You are with us and in us Holy Spirit. May You lead us Holy Spirit in Your way of truth and light. May You renew our minds and transform us to be like You dear Jesus. May You transform all those who partaking of drugs, alcohol, adultery, fornication, money laundering, murder and all sorts of evil. May You wash us all with Your precious blood and transform us dear Jesus. May You draw our hearts close to Yours that we may look to You alone loving Savior. May You restore all the broken relationships and marriages dear Jesus. May You grant the grace of marriage unto all Your children who are waiting on You Abba Father. May You answer our prayers and hearts desires merciful Savior. May we achieve all that You have called to do here on earth. We praise You dear Jesus and worship You, and it is in Jesus mighty name we pray trusting and believing. Amen
Further reading: Romans 3:24, Luke 9:23-27